Starting from the end of this month, Barclaycard, HSBC and Lloyds TSB will reduce charges for not repaying debt from £20 down to £12. “We expect credit card issuers to adjust their default fee levels quickly,” said OFT chief executive…

These claims were made by Norwich Union following its new Retirement Index which shows that 2005 was the worst year for allowing a pensioner to enjoy their retirement free form debt worries. Daren Carter, director of sales and marketing for…

The website wants the OFT to introduce a £12 cap and not to back down on such a move, especially as “unfair” charges can add to debt. “Penalty charges are a huge money-spinner for the banks – the source of…

Its report on the Social Fund says that the rate of repayment to the government-supplied loans hurts larger families the most and requires “radical reform”. “In its current form, the Social Fund is making only a limited contribution to meeting…

This has prompted concern from Citizens Advice that those on low incomes will be forced to go into debt by borrowing money to repay overpayments, as well as pay for food. Organised fraud and IT problems have been blamed for…

Which? magazine said that HBoS, RBS and NatWest charged £118 for someone going £50 over their £250 overdraft limit for three days, which included direct debit, cheque and standing order charges. This has prompted calls that such charges are unfair…

Its latest figures show that the increase in loans totalled £9.3 billion last month, up from the £9.2 billion increase in March. However, this was still below the six month average for growth rates and has led to caution from…